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Choosing a Chemical Resistant Glove

In work environments, there is a myriad of chemicals that workers can be exposed to. Unfortunately, there is no one glove that will cover all possible applications. For that reason, it is important to know how to choose chemical protective gloves (sometimes called chemical resistant gloves) that will work with the chemicals in your workplace and will provide the appropriate protection for your employees.

The initial step in choosing a glove is determining what you're trying to protect against.

  • What chemical, or chemicals, are used in your workplace?
  • Is it part of a mixture, a single chemical used alone, or single chemicals used in a series?
  • What is the concentration of the chemical (i.e., how strong is it)?
  • How long is the employee exposed to the chemical? Is the exposure intermittent or continuous?
  • Other factors that need to be considered: How much of the employee's arm above the glove will be exposed? How rough is the treatment of the glove (for example, will the glove be used where the person repeatedly grips rough surfaces, abrading the glove, or smooth surfaces?)? Do you have employees that are allergic to latex?

Generally, this information is easily obtained by looking at the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the chemical, reading labels, and observing the work process.

After you've determined what you're protecting against, the next step is choosing the proper chemical resistant gloves .

Because different manufacturers may use different processes and slightly different materials or material blends in making their chemical resistant gloves , it is important to base your chemical resistant gloves selection on the manufacturer's recommendations and/or its chemical resistance guide.

1.    First, you need to make a preliminary chemical resistant glove material selection. You can do this by checking to see if the MSDS makes a recommendation for the material type or by consulting a "generic" glove material chart. Often, you will find that more than one material will work for the chemical of interest. You want to note each of the materials because if you can't get a glove in a particular style you want in one material, you may be able to find it in another material that will provide similar chemical protection.
2.    Once you've made a preliminary material selection, narrow your manufacturer choices using the physical aspects (style) of the glove you would like—sleeve length, without or without a grip pattern, etc.
3.    After you've narrowed your manufacturer choices, consult the manufacturer's guide for your specific chemical. The manufacturer's data will generally provide you with three ratings regarding how well the glove works with a particular chemical.

  • Permeation rate measures how quickly a chemical passes through a material at the molecular level. Think of it as a slow leak, similar to how gases seep through plastic soda bottles making soda on the grocery store shelf go flat. The thickness of a material can affect the permeation rate; the thicker the material, the slower the permeation rate. Permeation rates are reported differently by different manufacturers. However, generally, the higher the number, the more quickly the chemical goes through the material. If the amount of time it takes for the chemical to permeate the material is close to or less than the amount of time your employee will wear the glove, it is not a good choice for your application.
  • Degradation means the physical changes to the material caused by the chemical, which can include swelling, stiffening, wrinkling, and changes in color. The slower degradation occurs in the presence of a chemical, the more protective the material is for that specific chemical. There are no standardized tests for degradation; each manufacturer generally has its own test. If gloves are only going to be worn for a few minutes and only once, it is unlikely that they will have sufficient time to degrade. However, if gloves are going to be used repeatedly or continuously, degradation becomes an important factor in your glove selection.
  • Breakthrough time is, essentially, how much time it takes for a chemical to begin to soak through a material. The greater the breakthrough time, the more protective the material is for that particular chemical. Breakthrough is measured using a standardized test (ASTM F739). Like permeation, if the breakthrough time is close to or less than the amount of time the glove will be worn, it is not a good choice for your application.

One thing to keep in mind is that the data are based on pure chemicals, not mixtures. When chemicals are combined, their physical properties and permeation rates may change. For this reason, you should make your selection on the chemical component with the shortest breakthrough time. If you are unclear as to whether chemical resistant gloves will work for a particular chemical or mixture, contact the glove manufacturer.

If you are attempting to find a chemical protective glove for multiple uses at your facility, it helps to make a chart of the chemicals for the different applications and glove manufacturer information in order to help make it easier to determine whether or not the chemical resistant gloves will meet the needs of multiple applications.


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